Don't Mess With The Hawk
by Hi I'm Lou
Summary: A mission gone wrong leaves one of the team hurt and another thirsty for blood. Rated for some swearing. Reviews are welcome :)


A/N: some may seem a little out of character and I apologise for that. All mistakes are my own.

A/N 2: characters are my own perception of their ages, so not the actors' ages. Characters' ages for this fic:

Clint: 24, Steve: 27, Natasha: 28, Tony: 34  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with the Avengers; not the comics, not the film and certainly not the actors (though I wish I did!)

* * *

It was supposed to be a routine mission. It only took four of them. Fury only sent four of them. Thor was still in Asgard, the Hulk wasn't needed and the intel was supposed to be top class. _How did it go so wrong so fast? _was the main thought racing through Steve's head as he tapped his foot nervously, waiting for pick up, _How did it go so so wrong?_

* * *

**_Earlier that day..._**  
Content. That would be the one word to describe how Clint felt at that exact moment. Sitting in the common lounge of Avengers Tower, feet in Tony's lap, legs over Natasha's and his torso curled into Steve's side, Clint was happy to just sit and watch the movie JARVIS had picked out at Tony's request. He was dismayed at the fact that Thor had to help Odin with Loki and that Bruce was busy helping SHIELD, but every time Steve brushed kisses into his hair or squeezed him tighter to his side, he let out a huff of bliss and pressed a kiss to Steve's chest. Then it was ruined.

* * *

Fury paced his office, internally debating whether or not to send in _his_ Avengers. This was basic, but had the potential to go incredibly wrong incredibly fast, and he'd already lost one of his best agents, he was reluctant to lose two more. He wasn't given much choice however as his phone rang at that moment. He sighed as Hill informed him it was the Council. Picking up the phone, Nick growled out a greeting before gesturing to Hill to tell the Avengers to gear up and get to work. He never knew how much he'd regret it later.

* * *

Clint set the jet down in a remote clearing, five miles from the base they were to infiltrate. Him, Steve and Natasha were on ground control whereas Tony covered the air. They all trekked through dense jungle together before Tony took to the skies a mile off from the target site. Shield in place and comm. online, Steve veered right; Natasha double checked her pistols and her back-ups, ensured she had extra clips and then a knife in both boots before she went left. Clint tapped his boots and found the three knives he always kept there in their places, checked his 9mm and back up hand gun, checked his quiver was full, his bow string was up to scratch and that the rest of his concealed weapons were just that, before climbing the tree 100 feet in front of him.

* * *

**_With Steve..._**  
Steve burst through the front door as planned, startling the biologists working on the chemicals that had the potential to become deadly when placed inside a biological nuke. Launching his shield from his arm, he revelled in the thunk that sounded as it made contact with one of their faces, knocking them out instantly. After that, it was easy. He checked in with Natasha periodically, only slightly envying the fact she had the fun part of the job, hit the goons. Once sure everything on her end was dealt with, Steve rounded up the handcuffed workers and called for two SHIELD pick ups, one for the biologists, one for the alive goons. That was when things went down hill...

* * *

**_With Natasha..._**  
Infiltrating the base was a lot easier than intel had led them to believe; that should have tipped her off straight away. After sticking to the walls at first, she soon grew tired of the incompetence of the 'guards' (she scoffed silently at their titles) and started on the offence. The first few were simple take outs, a few harsh squeezes to pressure points here, a few well placed hits there, a chokehold or two, job's a goodun. Stepping further into the room, she saw something that made both her blood boil and her heart stop cold. Watching the monitors were several men, each easily over six foot tall and made of muscle, and they were discussing the unsavoury things they had planned for "that cute ass boy" who was perched in a tree...

* * *

**_With Tony..._**  
_Damn this is boring!_  
He circled the camp once more before a grin spread over his face.  
"Well, well, well, let's play a little game of dodge the blast."  
Tony chuckled to himself, slowing his flight and aiming just to the right of an escaped goon.  
"Nope, not that way."  
Another blast on the opposite side.  
"Not that way either!"  
He laughed once more, as he trapped the man within a square of trees. "JARVIS?"  
"Yes, sir?"  
"Scan the building for technology that can be under my control in under 30 seconds."  
"Certainly... All technology within the facility is now yours, sir."  
"How bout that?"  
He happily launched viruses into the systems of every computer within the compound, and any piece that had no hard drive instantly short circuited. He didn't know the damage he was doing.

* * *

**_With Clint..._**  
_This is too easy... Way too easy..._  
Wiping away a sheen of sweat coating his forehead, he nocked an arrow and took out another 'guard'. Clint gained the distinct feeling that he was being watched and after a quick turn to the left, he cursed quietly, spotting the well hidden camera nearly 300 feet away. He quickly and silently scrambled down from his perch and sprinted through the undergrowth. He circled the base and slipped through the same entrance Steve had, slightly confused as to why it was empty.  
_Have I missed pick up AGAIN?!_  
Looking left and right, Clint saw nothing SHIELD couldn't deal with and turned to leave, when a weird clicking sound caught his attention.  
Tapping him comm. unit, he asked,  
"Um.. Nat, Tone, Ste, I think you guys should run. You copy?"  
"Why?" Natasha replied, already finishing tying up the last of the men she'd attacked and left alive, their comments about her surrogate little brother still fresh in her mind; she made a mental note to NOT tell Steve, or Tony for that matter.  
"What's going on?" Tony responded, hundreds of scenarios running through his mind, his genius making them more and more graphic as he flicked through the images.  
"What have you found, Clint?" Steve asked, fear creeping up on him as he thought of the possible dangers surrounding his younger and much smaller partner.  
"Nothing serious, just a teeny, tiny, little bomb. Nothing I can't handle," he replied quickly, knowing it was the wrong thing to say when he heard the string of Russian curses from his sister, the English version of Natasha's words from Tony and the concerned sigh from Steve.  
"Just get the fuck out of there now!" he snapped at the lack of a reply.  
Three more sighs filled his ears before he got his confirmation, he then set to work.

* * *

**_With Tony, Steve and Natasha..._**  
"He's gonna be okay, right?" Tony asked worriedly, fear for his best friend bleeding through into his nonchalant tone.  
"Oh yeah, he'll be fine. Won't be the first time, won't be the last." Natasha replied simply, her confidence in her little brother's skills clearly evident.  
"He better be, otherwise I'm going to kill the rest of them, SHIELD be damned." Steve growled, his fists clenching and unclenching as he paced the area in front of the jet sent to pick up the newly admitted SHIELD prisoners.  
The shock of the explosion threw them all to the ground...

* * *

"CLINT!" was the collective yell of the other Avengers.  
Tony stood by the captured workers whilst regretfully watching Natasha and Steve tear off in the direction of the explosion.  
He turned to one of the goons who was frowning.  
"What are you upset about?!" He growled, his temper flaring as the man's frown deepened in apparent thought.  
"Clint? Is that the littluns name? He's got a cute ass, so much potential.." the man replied, smirking as he thought through his dirty fantasies.  
Tony kicked him in the face - twice; Iron Man suit and all.

* * *

Skidding to a halt beside the building, Steve felt tears well up in his baby blues as he surveyed the damage, a choked sob leaving his throat as he realised that Clint - his baby, his pride and joy, the most precious thing to him in the 21st century - was under all of the rubble, alone and probably terrified if he was awake, or even alive. At that thought a tear fell, coinciding with the hand Natasha laid on his shoulder. Memories flashed through his head - the first time they met, their first date, their first kiss, the movie night snuggles and the day time cuddles, the late night talks and the early morning comforts for nightmares - and more tears fell before his expression hardened.

Natasha felt her heart jump to her throat as she saw the remnants of what was once just a facility that had popped up on SHIELD's take-out radar. She tried to keep her emotions in check, unwilling to believe that her little brother was gone until she felt no pulse beating for herself. She stepped next to Steve and laid a hand on his shoulder, her own memories flashing through her head as she let a lone tear make its way down her cheek - the first time they met, granted he was there to kill her, the look in his eyes as instead of putting an arrow through her neck, he offered her a hand and a way out of the life she'd made for herself, a way to a better life - and her mouth turned into a grim line of determination as she began to clear the rubble to find her brother.

* * *

**_With Clint..._**  
Pain. The first thing he woke up to was pain. And darkness.  
Huh, I could've sworn it was day time when we started this mission.  
Then the memories of cuddling with Steve whilst watching a movie with Tony and Natasha, the sighs of everyone as they were called to work, flying and landing the jet, the trek through the jungle, holding Steve's hand the entire way until they had to split up, the camera, the bomb, the failed attempt at disabling said bomb crashed through him, igniting the pain in his head. Taking stock of his limbs, Clint assessed his injuries and groaned internally, realising how long he'd have to be out of action for before Fury (and Steve, Nat, Tony, Bruce and even Thor) would let him back into the field, Avengers related or not. He mentally catalogued his wounds and frowned; at least three fractured and four bruised ribs, at least a minor concussion, broken right arm, too many cuts to count but one major gash on his lower left leg would need at least 20 stitches and to top it all off a cut on his face that was dripping blood into his eye. He slowly faded into unconsciousness as he heard the sounds of rescue.

* * *

**_With Natasha and Steve..._**  
A screech sounded as the two metal beams slid across each other, Natasha only cringed at the noise as she continued to shift small piles of brick work and wooden frames; Steve continued to lift the heavy slabs of concrete flooring and metal support beams. After what felt like an eternity but in reality was only five minutes, Natasha called the blonde over, pointing at a bloody hand and already starting to clear more rubble away, revealing the rest of an arm and the arm guard they both knew so well.  
Relief and panic swelled in Steve's chest, each fighting to be more dominant, relief winning out though. With a speed and care he didn't even know he possessed, Steve cleared the rest of the rubble from his partner and let Natasha assess his injuries whilst he called Tony over his comm.  
"Tony," he breathed, relief evident in his voice.  
"You found him? Please tell me you found him!"  
The panic was evident in the genius' voice.  
"We got him... we got him." Steve replied, turning off his comm. link to the sound of Tony's relieved laughter.  
He turned back to where Natasha and Clint were, frowning when he saw the amount of blood surrounding the two assassins. He made his way over to them, stepping around the remnants of the small building and over the support beams. He looked down at his lover and felt tears once again form in his eyes, love shining through the concern.  
Natasha knelt by her brother, holding in the sobs of relief at finding him relatively okay; she couldn't lose him, not after Phil. Taking in his appearance, she let just one more tear track down her face before sniffling once and letting her hands seek out injuries on Clint's body. Her concern grew each second that went by as she found more cuts and bruises, a frown marring her features once she'd finished. The broken ribs were her major concern, as was the gash on his leg but she took everything in stride as she was just thankful that Clint was still breathing independently.  
"Tasha," Steve sighed, already knowing he wouldn't like the reply.  
"How bad is it?"  
Natasha's frown deepened, a note of exhaustion entering her tone as she responded,  
"Really bad. If we're not careful, one of those broken ribs could puncture a lung, and then we're in serious trouble."  
Steve sighed once more, casting a sideways glance at Natasha, silently asking her if it was safe for him to pick Clint up. After receiving a nod, he scooped his partner up with a gentleness that belied his size and began to navigate his way around debris to take him to the helicopter SHIELD had sent to collect them.  
Steve turned to Natasha and after pressing a feather light kiss to Clint's forehead, firmly stated,  
"You get Tony in the helicopter with Clint, get him to medical as quickly as possible. I want you to interrogate the scientists unofficially, ask them if those chemicals would have had an effect on him. I'll stay with the 'guards' and have a little... 'chat' with them."  
Natasha only nodded in response, cracking her knuckles and letting a blank mask fall over her face as she planned her technique to get the information out of the scientists.

* * *

Steve stood with relief etched on his face as he watched the chopper carrying his baby away to safety, glad it was Tony watching over him. He turned to see Natasha's helicopter finish taking off and a small smile of triumph flitted across his face before it hardened to a grim line of suppressed anger. He about turned and cast stormy blue eyes over the goons who were mostly responsible for what happened to his boyfriend.  
"Damn! How bad is that one hurt? I was hoping to get a turn in that ass..." one of the few men still alive, currently face down in the dirt with his hands cuffed behind his back, muttered, a frown worsening his already ugly features.  
Rage boiled within Steve as he turned his glare towards the ground, mentally tearing apart one of the four left as he snapped,  
"What?!"  
All of the men fell silent, fear creeping into their eyes as they took in a furious Captain America. One of them opened their mouths to placate the enraged soldier but his efforts earned him a shiny, red boot to the face, a sickening snap signifying a dislocated, if not broken, jaw.  
Steve set to work.

* * *

**Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep.. Beep.. Beep..**  
"Someone turn that off!" Clint snapped, his eyes still closed but his senses completely alert.  
He felt a hand take his, a thumb rubbing across the knuckles of his left hand. Cracking his eyes open a fraction, Clint stared down at the red and gold coloured cast encasing his right arm and yelled,  
"TONY! YOU ARE DEAD TO ME!"  
Amused laughter filled his ears and he turned his head to the left to see Natasha's slender fingers linked through his, and Tony's beaming face staring down at him.  
He scowled.  
Natasha pressed a brief kiss to his forehead before standing up and waving to him, whispering something in Tony's ear that made the billionaire pale and shut himself up sharply. Clint let out a small laugh and smiled, Tony returning it before nodding his head toward the cast and laughing again. Clint glanced to his right, picked up the pen on the bedside table with his uninjured arm, removed the lid and then threw it at the genius; broken arm or not, he still had perfect aim.  
Tony immediately stopped laughing when he looked in the mirror and saw the thick black line of permanent marker across his forehead.  
"Not cool Bird Brain! And to think, I was actually worried about you. Last time I care!" he complained, no malice or true conviction in his voice whatsoever.  
He gently punched Clint in the shoulder, anticipating the jab he received and sidestepping it, only to walk straight into the kick Clint aimed toward his thigh. Clint laughed again as Tony cursed in short lived pain, and Tony couldn't help but be grateful that the little terror was still there to bully him. Clint turned his attention toward the door and saw Natasha standing leant against the frame, an easy smile on her face as she watched the two of them.  
"Come on Iron Ass, leave him alone."  
Clint's eyes started drooping, a clear indication they'd stuck him on pain meds again.  
Natasha subtly nodded her head in the bed ridden Avenger's direction, something Tony thankfully picked up on first time, and the genius smiled again.  
"Pepper's been calling for you anyway." the red head continued, slowly edging her way toward the door, silently encouraging Tony to do the same.  
Clint's eyes fluttered shut as the genius pressed a kiss to his forehead, murmuring the words,  
"See ya later, Feather Head."

* * *

The next time he resurfaced from unconsciousness, Clint found that someone had turned the volume of the heart monitor down as well as reducing his dosage of painkillers. He felt a hand holding his, same as last time, only this hand was bigger and rougher. He knew who it was instantly. He opened his eyes, hissing at the harsh light before blinking owlishly and throwing a smile in Steve's direction. He tugged the super soldier's arm roughly, jerking the bigger blonde out of his sleep.  
"Clint! Baby, oh god you had me so worried! I swear, if you ever do something so stupid ever again, I'm gonna kick your ass into the next century! Promise me you'll never do something like that again?"  
Clint took in his lover's distraught expression and scooted over on the bed, patting the space he'd just made with a soft smile on his face. Steve took the hint and carefully sat down, pulling Clint into his side and pressing kisses into his hair, mindful of the broken ribs and arm. He muttered something unintelligible and Clint strained his hearing to see what his boyfriend had said.  
"I killed them all... Does that make me a bad person?" Steve whispered, brushing more kisses over Clint's face and hair.  
"No, it doesn't. It means that you're a good person, who made a decision and helped their agency prevent a bad group of people releasing nukes onto innocents. That's what it makes you." Clint stated defiantly, glaring up at his partner, daring him to say something different.  
Steve chuckled at how even after nearly dying, Clint was still so stubborn and unfazed by it all. He settled more into the pillows and sighed happily when Clint snuggled into him more, pressing butterfly kisses to his chest. He heard the very quiet murmur of "I promise." before he followed Clint into sleep.


End file.
